Fastening device



Feb. 15, 1944. cs. A. TVINNERMAN 2,342,064

FASTENING DEVICE Original FiledSept. 13, 1940 1 g 7 4 w H I I I V M46 i V I INVENTOR- Y I V other threaded atente rns'rsnnvc nnvrcs George A. Tinnen, Cleveland, flhio, assignor to Tinnerman Products, 1110., Cleveland, ilhio,

a corporation of Ohio Original application September 13, 1940, Serial No. 356,707, new Patent No. 2,312,134,1iated February 1 2, 1943. Divided and this application November 30, 1942, Serial No. 467,309

I 3 Claims. (Cl.

This invention relates to an improved form of fastening device having a clamping action with a shaft, rod, or the like, in a manner to provide an easily and quickly adjustable connection of general utility adapted for use in a wide range and variety of installations. The present application is a division of my previously filed application, Serial No. 356,707, filed September 13, 1940, now Patent #2,!il2,13a dated February 12, 1943.

More particularly, this invention deals with an improved fastener construction designed for clamping action with a shaft, rod, or the like, to provide an adjustable connection in which a cooperating part or member may be adjustably secured with respect thereto for relative movement therewith or otherwise fixedly secured or supported in an installation by the'iirm', rigid connection of the fastener with said shaft, rod, or the like.

A principal-object oi the invention is to proart as a description thereof proceedswith reference to the accompanying drawing, for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the same, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of the improved fastener of the invention as employed in the manner of an adjustable conneeting lever in a damper control arms.- ratus, for example, or a similar type of valve mechanism; Fig. 2 is a close-up view of the fastener appearing in Fig. l and showing the same in edge elevation as connected to the associated shaft member; Fig. 3 is a'sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. .2, looking in the direction of the arrows and showing the base of the fastener in plan; Fig. 4 is a sectional view of Fig. 2 along line lt looking in the direction of vide a simple, inexpensivefastener in the form of a connecting device of this characmr comprising a generally U=shaped, metallic structure having spaced arms provided with apertures receiving the shaft, rod, or the like, and clamping the same under the thrust or force of a set screw or fastening device cooperating therewith.

. Another object of the invention is for the provision of such a generally U-shaped, sheet metal fastener having means in the base or web portion thereof for threadedly engaging the set screw and otherwise providing a tensioned, thread locls ing action therewith in any setting or position of adjustment of the sheet metal fastener in connected engagement with the shaft, rod, or the like.

ment with a rod, shaft, or the like, in a manner to serve as a substantial crank or lever mechanism for actuating the same or for operating I a member associated therewith.

vention will be apparentto those skilled in the i the arrows; Fig. 5 shows a further embodiment of the invention wherein the fasteneris employed as an adjustable clamp for securing a generally flat element to a round rod member or the like;

and, Fig. 6 is a side elevational view as seen from the right of Fig. 5.

The fastening device of the present invention is one of general utility for providing a simple,

inexpensive and easily installed connecting means adapted for fixed, rigid, connected engagement with a shaft, rod, orthe like, in a. manner whereby an associated part maybe secured with respect to said shaft for relative movement therewith or otherwise firmly secured or supported in an installation but'capable of both vertical and horizontal adjustment as may be necessary or desirable. It will thus be'appreciated that the present invention is one which may be advantageously employed in a wide range and variety of installations as a simple, inexpensive and highly practical form of adjustable connecting means.

For purposes of illustration, one important application of the improved fastener of the present invention is disclosed in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive as provided for use in the manner of an adjustable crank or operating lever in a damper control apparatus, for example, or similar type of valve mechanism actuated bya remote control linkage, or the like. In Fig. 1 there is representeda general organization of this character wherein a pipe P,-or the like, is provided with a damper or similar valve D attached, in any suitable way,

providing a laterally projecting shaft portion to which is secured the/connecting device of the present invention, designated generally I0. At a point removed from said shaft, a link 3 or similar element is pivotally secured to 'anarm or extension of said connecting device in any suitable way as by a stud and cotter pin 4, such link 3 forming a part of a remote control linkage, or the like, foractuating the mechanism just described As bestseen in Figs. 1 and 2, the fastener or connecting device III is provided in the form of a generally U-shaped device comprising a base or web portion II between a pair of spaced arms I2, I3. If desired, one of saidarms I3, may be somewhatlonger than the other to define an extension to which the link 3 is connected, as aforesaid. While'the fastening device I may be provided in various ways in the form of a casting or machined part, the present invention contemplates such a device as constructed in the simplest and cheapest manner from a small, inexpensive blank or stamping of any suitable sheet metal material, preferably of spring metal or of metal having spring-like characteristics such as cold rolled steel. In this respect, it will be recognized that though the device may be formed from sheet metal sections of various outlines, of course, the same is most advantageously provided from a simple, generally rectangular stamping which is readily obtained from ordinary sheet metal strip stock with little or no waste of material in providing a device capable of economical quantity production and relatively low cost.

As shown in Fig. 4, an aperture I 4 is provided in each of said arms I2, I3, at points spaced from the base or web portion I I of the fastener. Said openings I4 are in suitable alignment for receiving the shaft I in a direction generally normal to said arms I2, I 3, and substantially parallel to said base portion II of the fastener, as illustrated in Fig. 2. On portions of the marginal edges of said apertures ll, there are preferably provided teeth I5, prongs, serrations or similar means having their points extending toward the base II of the fastener in a direction to positively engage, become embedded or otherwise anchored to said shaft I under a clamping force or thrust exerted thereon normal to said shaft. While normally under such clamping force, the plain marginal edge of said apertures I4 are capable of frictionally and grippingly engaging the shaft with sufiicient tightness to hold the fastener fixedly and rigidly secured thereon, the teeth I5 serve to provide an added positive lock preventing any possible slippage, loosening or displacement of the fastener in a relative axial as well as relative rotative motion on said shaft, as when employed for the purpose of transmitting or receiving a torque or turning force.

For supplying the clamping force which urges the marginal edges of apertures I4, or the teeth I5 provided thereon. to positive engagement with the shaft, a set screw 20 or the like, is provided for threaded engagement with thread engaging means formed on or carried by the base or web portion I I of the fastener in a manner to permit said set screw to be advanced in a direction normal to said shaft to positive engagement therewith substantially as shown in Fig. 2. While such thread engaging means may be provided in the manner of a separate threaded nut spot-welded, riveted or otherwise attached to said base or web portion H of the fastener, such arrangements are relatively expensive and the cost cause of the added step in manufacture required in addition to a separate assembling operation and the cost of a lock nut or lock washer for providing the set screw with means preventing loosening or displacement thereof from any setting or operative clamping position in an installation.

In a preferred construction, the above noted objections are obviated and most advantageously eliminated in the provision of the fastener in a unitary, one-piece, sheet metal product in which thread engaging means for the set screw are provided on the base or web portion I I of the fastener in the manner of integral cooperating tongue elements 2|, 22, or the like, defining a thread or a thread opening for threadedly engaging the thread of the set screw 20, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Referring to Fig. 3, it will be understood that such thread engaging elements are best provided from the material of the base I I of the fastener by an aperture intermediate spaced parallel slits forming the cooperating tongues 2 I, 22, having a space between the extremities thereof which define the desired thread or thread opening for threadedly engaging the set screw. Said tongue elements 2 I, 22, otherwise are formed to project inwardly of said base portion II out of the plane thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, and bent intermediate their lengths in a substantial ogee formation to provide for the maximum strength therein to withstand the tightening action of the set screw 20 as it is advanced to positive clamping engagement with the shaft.

Said thread engaging means may be pressed, stamped, extruded or otherwise provided on the base I I of the fastener in any suitable form or construction so long as the same threadedly engage with the thread of the set screw 20. and, in this relation, the present invention fully contemplates the provision of such thread engaging means in various other related forms as in the manner of a substantial perforated protuberance which is pressed from the sheet metal and shaped to provide a helical thread or otherwise has the walls thereof tapped to provide a plurality of threads for threadedly engaging the set screw. However, it has been found that such thread engaging means prepared in the form of cooperating, yieldable tongues, as shown, are the most efficient and the most practical in that they are possessed of unusual inherent strength and will not collapse or pull through when the set screw is tightened or loosen under continuous strain and vibration in the installation. This takes place by reason of the fact that the sheet metal material from which such tongues 2I, 22 are formed is of less thickness than the pitch or spacing of the threads of the bolt or screw, wherefore such tongues tend, more effectively, to move toward each other and dig into the grooves intermediate adjacent threads of the set screw when tightened therewith and otherwise become embedded in the root diameter thereof in locked, frictional fastening engagement therewith in applied fastening position. In the present example, such tongues 2|, 22, are shown as extending out of the plane of base II in substantial ogee form- I ation and provided preferably with notched exof the fasteners prohibitive in many cases be- .75

tremities, Fig. 3, forming substantial biting jaws designed to cut into the root diameter of the set screw and adjacent thread surfaces thereon in positive locking relation therewith in the most effective marmer. There is thus eliminated any necessity for a separate locking means such as a lock nut or lock washer and this, in mass production, not only involves a considerable saving in the cost of such locking devices but also the expense and labor involved in the tedious, timeconsuming assembling operations and other steps in manufacture whichsuch devices require. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited in any manner or form to this construction of the thread engaging means 2 i, 22 but rather, comprehends also, various other forms of such tongues or equivalent thread engaging means.

In operation and use, the fastener or connecting device I of the present invention prepared substantially in the manner aforesaid, is applied to the projecting portion of shaft i by slipping the same over the end of said shaft through the aligned apertures II in the arms I2, I 3 thereof. The set screw 20 may be threadedly engaged with the thread engaging means 2|, 22 of the fastener either before or after the same is thus slipped over the shaft and located in operative position thereon,- whereupon said set screw is advanced in a .direction normal to said shaft to positive clamping engagement therewith substantially as shown in Fig. 2. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the link 3, or equivalent means forming part of a remote control mechanism is pivotally secured to an extension on arm l3, for example, of the fastener, whereupon said fastener is adapted to serve as a lever or crank device, in response to movement of said link 3, to operate and selectively position the damper D or similar member mounted for tuming movement in an installation.

In this respect, the fastener is disposed in positive locked relation with the shaft l, against any possible slippage or displacement by virtue of the combined clamping force of the set screw 20 therewith and the action of the jaws defined by the shaft receiving apertures I 4 in arms l2, l3, and the marginal serrations or teeth l5 which are actuating the same. The set screw is then tightened in the new setting or adjusted position of the fastener in a manner whereby the entire adjustment is easily and quickly accomplished in a minimum of time and effort and without disassembling or otherwise disturbing the operative position Many of the parts connected or other mechanism associated therewith.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a further embodiment of the invention wherein the fastener III is employed in the manner of an adjustable clamp to secure a bracket B, or like member directly to the supporting rod R, substantially as shown in Fig. 5. The fastener I0 is constructed in the general U- shaped form described, to provide the arms l2, l3, in connected engagement with the rod R, and receiving in the space therebetween said bracket B or similar connecting tongue element, or the like, of a cooperating part. The bracket B is firmly and rigidly clamped directly to the rod R by the leading end of the set screw 20, and in this relation, the thrust incident to tightening said set screw, causes the teeth or serrated jaws I I, Fig. 4, bordering the rod receiving apertures. in said arms l2, 13, to become embedded in biting engagement with said rod R thereby maintaining the fastener against any possible slippage or displacement thereon in applied fastening position, substantially as described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. This arrangement is particularly useful as a fastening means of general utility for fixedly and rigidly connecting a flat part to a round rod member, or the like, and in perpendicular or other angular relationship thereto but capable of easy and quick adjustment either ver- V tically or horizontally of said rod R, with the urged into biting engagement with said shaft under such clamping force of the set screw 20. In any such position, the set screw itself is held in clamping engagement with the shaft and locked against loosening and reverse rotation toward untightening by the thread locking action therewith of the integral, resilient, tongues 2 I, 22, or similar thread engaging means, as aforesaid. This thread locking action is not such as to cause a permanent distortion or deformation of the tongues 2|, 22 or the'like, inasmuch as the sheet metal material of the fastener from which such thread engaging means are formed is preferably of spring metal or other metal of sufficient hardness to withstand the tightening action of the set screw and the tensioning thread locking engagement thereof with said set screw in the extreme limit of tightening of the same. The set screw 20 may therefore be loosened and tightened as often as necessary or desirable without danger of damaging or mutilating the thread engaging elements 2|, 22, thereof, and thus, the fastener may be readily disassociated from the shaft and resecured in a new setting or position of adjustment with equal effectiveness even after an extended period of service and use. Accordingly, in the installation represented in Fig. 1, it will be appreciated that the fastener i0 is readily adapted for either axial or rotative adjustment with respect to the shaft I simply by loosening the set screw 20 and moving the fastener l0 relative to said shaft as necessary to dispose the same in desired operative position with reference to the damper D, or other member operated by said shaft, and the link 3 or similar mechanism for bracket 13 being also adjustable in a lengthwise direction with respect to said rod, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6.

While the invention has been described in detail with specific examples, such examples are intended as illustrations only, since it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modiflcations in the construction, arrangement and general combination of parts thereof may be devised without departing from the spirit of the invention. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, with all changes falling within the scope, meaning and range of equivalency of the claims intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A one-piece fastener comprising a sheet metal body having a base and bent portions defining a pair of spaced arms extending in the same general direction from said base, said arms having apertures spaced from said base and aligned'for- 'receiving a shaft, rod, or the like, in rotatably adjustable relation thereto, locking means comprising substantial teeth or the like bordering the aperture of each arm on the side remote from said base of the fastener, integral thread engaging means deformed from the material of said base, and a threaded fastening threadedly engaged with said integral thread engaging means and adapted to clamp said rod or shaft on the surface opposite said locking teeth to urge said teeth on each arm against said rod or shaft and force said teeth into embedded relation therewith.

2. A one-piece fastener comprising a sheet metal body having a base and bent portions definingapeiro! spaced arms eaten in the same general directiondrom said base. said arms having apertures spaced from said base and aligned for receiving a shaft, rod, or the like, in rotatably adjustable relation thereto, there being an opening through said base, apair of opposed integral --tongues on opposite sides of said opening cut from the base and deflected inwardly in inclined directions and having their ends warped to define a helical turn corresponding to the thread of a screw to be passed through the base, and a screw passing through the base threadingly retained by said tongues and adapted to react against the shaft or rod to draw the arms into engagement with the opposite face thereof.

- 3. A one-piece fastener comprisin a sheet metal body having a base and bent portions defining a pair of spaced arms extending in the same general direction from said base, said arms having apertures spaced from said base and aligned for receiving a shaft, rod, or the like, in rotatably adjustable relation thereto, locking means comprising substantial teeth or the like bordering at least one of saidapertures and 

